


Catharsis

by LoxodontaAtlantica



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Selectively Mute Frisk, Spoilers - Pacifist Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-05-15 19:30:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5797015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoxodontaAtlantica/pseuds/LoxodontaAtlantica
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>* Frisk...<br/>* You came from this world, right?<br/>* So you must have a place to return to, do you not?<br/>* What will you do now?<br/>I have places to go<br/>♥  I want to stay with you</p>
            </blockquote>





	Catharsis

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Clymentined](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clymentined/gifts).



> Someone else linked this prompt list on another fic. It really inspired me. I think I'm going to try this out, it'll force me to start writing at least!  
> https://alloftheseprompts.wordpress.com/2015/12/30/30-day-challenge-writing-about-change/  
> This is day one - a name change.

You cling to her hand like you're falling down the mountain, not walking down it. You want to hug her, have her carry you down, and never let go. You don't want to let go. She says, 'You are a funny child,' but you don't care. You've heard worse. 'If you had said that earlier, none of this would have happened.' You  _did_ want to say it earlier. But you couldn't believe it, that someone had really wanted you to stay with them and you didn't want to be stuck in those dark ruins alone when she'd finally kick you out because you're  _Frisk,_ you're not just a normal kid with a family and a reason for people to keep you around. You didn't ever tell anyone that, though. If you did...  
  
'I will do my best to take care of you, for as long as you need.' It feels like you're falling down again, it feels like Asgore saying it'll be like a trip to the dentist, it feels like Asriel asking, 'Don't you have anything better to do?' It feels like your heart breaking. You wonder for a moment if you'll have to revert your save, to go back and have that conversation again, and if that had happened you wouldn't know what to say. You think you'd say the same thing. So you keep walking with her, remind yourself that it's over, it's finally over, you have a family now, even if it's just a mom, for a little while. You're not sure if Toriel and Asgore will ever be together again. You want them to be. Having a mom and a dad would be so nice, but you shake the thought away. You think it's selfish.  
  
When you suddenly stop and tug on her robe with your free hand, she doesn't waste a moment in turning to look down at you.

She asks, in her gentle, caring voice that you know in your heart is genuine, 'What do you need? Is everything alright?' Oh. She can tell that you're tearing up. You're not really one for talking, you tend to just emote what you mean to say. Talking leads to a lot of problems, but maybe, just this one time, you'll speak aboveground. It's just like when you called her, Frisk, you can do this. Come on. Just say words. You know what you want to say.

'If...'

'Yes,' no, is she answering already, she couldn't be 'cause she doesn't know and she's not the one who can reset,

'my child?' Okay, she was just saying she could hear you. It's alright.

Painfully slowly, you continue, 'if I don't need you... Will you leave?' You tense up and hold your breath, waiting for the response.

'Whatever made you think that? Of course not, Frisk. We are family!' Exhaling, your crying gets worse, and you hold onto her so tight that - what if it does damage to her and you accidentally kill her again? You don't want to have to go back. You don't ever want to reload. You hate it, and you hate how it makes you feel like a liar. Sans told you, in the Judgement Hall, that it doesn't mean you're naive if you didn't kill anyone. You think that if he somehow  _knew,_ (but how could he, you're alone in this, only Asriel remembered and he doesn't want you to see him that way) he would hate you as much as you hate yourself. You're a killer, even though it never happened, and now everything feels so fragile to you.

Toriel picks you up. She's going to carry you down. What if you wanted this before because you reset and forgot about it? You start to shiver, even though it's the middle of summer, and it's kind of cool, but it's not cold. Toriel's fur is fuzzy, too, so you shouldn't be shaking like this. You'll get in trouble. But then -  
'There is nothing to be afraid of. I am here for you, Frisk. I will not leave you. If I were a queen on the surface, I would decree that no monster could lawfully leave an innocent child like you alone.' She smiles down at you and holds you a little closer. Maybe, even though Sans had said you weren't completely innocent, you still had some innocence inside you..?

And, if you had that innocence inside you, maybe you really could...

_Why don't you ask?_

That little voice, the one that keeps getting quieter the further from the Underground you go, urges you to say it.

So you do. You wipe away your tears, and you say, 'Mom, can we have the same name?'

She smiles a little and says, 'Toriel?' You shake your head. She giggles. 'Oh, how silly of me! You mean Dreemurr... Ah, I do not really know if I am going to change that, myself... Once we get all of this cleared up, my child, we can change your name to... 'Frisk Goat!''  
You fake a pout, and she laughs, a sound that makes you feel like you've eaten a slice of one of her pies. 'That was a joke, silly billy.' She winks at you, and you note to yourself not to ask to go to Sans and Papyrus' anytime soon. (That was a joke, too.) 'Of course we can share a last name.'

You motion to the ground, feeling a lot better now, and she lets you down slowly, being careful to not let you fall. You hug her tightly, just like she did to you in the Ruins... and it fills you with determination, as you two walk down the mountain together.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic, I'm sorry if it's not good! Please criticize the crap out of me!!! Maybe even more vulgar words??  
> (By the way, I know that Sans remembers, but I don't think that after the first run that Frisk would know. Also, Sans isn't being an ass on purpose, no one really knows Frisk's history yet.)  
> Also, this might be a series of oneshots. Not sure.


End file.
